Ways to Moisturize and Protect Your Baby's Skin

Dry skin can be a problem for newborn babies and for older babies whose skin is very sensitive and incapable of producing adequate moisture. Keeping your baby's skin protected from harsh weather and frequent bathing is important and easy to do with many different products on the market. Your only problem may be choosing which of these products is best for your needs.

First, it is important to know that it is never necessary or good to use soap on your baby's face. All that's needed clean little faces is a warm, wet, soft rag. Soap is very drying and can irritate baby's sensitive skin.

If you do choose to moisturize, it is critical to use lotions that do not contain fragrances, alcohol or preservatives. Many of the popular baby lotions give our baby that baby smell.' Fragrances can irritate skin, initiate allergic reaction, and may not have very good moisturizing ability.

There are three types of formulations to use on baby's skin: lotions, creams, and ointments. Lotions have a high water content and do not moisturize as well as the other two. Creams are thicker, and are very good at moisturizing. Ointments are very thick, and moisturize very well, but can be very greasy.

Ointments are long-lasting but have the disadvantage of being very greasy feeling and can stain clothing. Vaseline and A&D ointment fall into this category. My favorite ointment is Aquaphor. After I had my first baby, I had Aquaphor around because I am a runner, and it helps prevent chaffing. It is free from fragrances and will stay on baby's skin and not evaporate.

Creams are my favorite formulations to use to prevent dry skin on my babies. Cetaphil cream is available in a tub is thicker and will stay on baby's skin a long time without staining clothing. This brand is my personal favorite because out of all the brands that I have tried, it is the one that is the least greasy feeling. It is great at moisturizing and protecting skin but does not stain my baby's clothing. While a tub of Cetaphil can cost you $10 to $12, it lasts a long time and is worth the extra cost.

Eucerin is another lotion that is great to use to prevent dry skin on your infant. It is made by the same company as Aquaphor, but is more of a cream and less greasy. This is another good option, having the same benefits of Cetaphil.

Other brands that make good, fragrance-free moisturizers are Keri, Lubriderm, and Nivea. Any of these are good choices. But keep in mind that these are lotions and may not last as long as some of the creams available.

If you are interesting in going all-natural, calendula cream has long been used to prevent and treat dry skin in infants. California Baby makes a great calendua cream that can be used on babies of all ages. Calendula cream contains tea tree oil, which is an antimicrobial agent and can heal skin, as well as moisturize it.

Keep in mind that there are prescription creams and ointments available for babies who have particularly dry skin, or skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. These are not necessary for most babies who have dry skin.

If patches of dry skin persist, you can use a mild hydrocortisone cream two to three times daily on the affected area. Do not use hydrocortisone to prevent the dry patches, but only to treat them. Determining the cause of dry patches is important as well. Make sure that if your baby does have dry or irritated skin that you are not using perfumed soaps or detergents, and are not using fabric softeners, as these are major culprits of skin irritations in little ones.